"Physical place is the heart of culture," he tells Tech Insider. "If you don't have a place for the culture of your organization to live, it can very easily drift away and vanish."

White points to five design elements that create what urban planners call "organic order," or the perception that things are where they belong because they enable people to move and think efficiently.

All the best offices make smart use of those five elements. They consist of paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks.

Paths are streets, corridors, and hallways; they get people from one place to the next.

Edges are buildings, walls, and rooms; they create natural borders between paths.

Districts are where similar behaviors are bundled together, as in theater districts or accounting departments.

Nodes are where paths intersect, whether they're street corners or the office kitchen.

Landmarks are iconic points used to orient people, like a monument or piece of art.

To better understand how these elements work together, consider Harry's, a start-up home-delivery service for male grooming products and a past client of Herman Miller.

Before White and his team worked their magic, using an approach blending psychology and urban planning known as Living Office, Harry's office was cramped and busy.

Harry's, pre-overhaul. Harry’s/Geordie Wood The open-air office had few edges and only a vague sense of districts, meaning it was one big room that wasn't tightly organized. While people loved the company's mission, some hated the prospect of working in such tight quarters.

White recognized how the chaos was holding Harry's back. Along with revamping the furniture to better suit Harry's brand, he helped them realize a new totally new space was the only option. So Harry's moved.

The leadership table, a landmark at Harry's. Harry’s/Geordie Wood Once space was no longer an issue, the real solutions could fall into place: greater flow, individual quiet rooms, re-districting, and a table in the middle of the office centralizing the leadership team.

That leadership table now acts as both a landmark and a node. People can easily interact with one another, but they could also hold the table as a place of note in their mental map.

The new space, full of nodes, encourages productive interaction. Harry’s/Geordie Wood Unlike companies that keep everyone in cubicles, offices that make space for the quiet types and the ones who thrive in open settings reassure people that all work styles are welcome. People can go where they want and move when they need to.

"It's a little more nuanced. It requires a little more responsibility on the part of individuals," White admits. That physical freedom can't help but translate into a culture that celebrates freedom of ideas, too.